Erin Rachel Hudak “In Care Of”

VACATION

This event has ended.

Spreading out his sketches in front of me, he explained to me enthusiastically: “I draw dozens of sketches, sometimes in detail, sometimes in rough outlines. In one instance it took me three hours to draw a sketch in detail. I draw a flower with the root, as if it grew from the ground. I draw the stem of the flower as if it were a person breathing and growing tall. I think that a Japanese artist works the same way.”

He continued talking, showing many detailed sketches of the same subject. “there is essentially no difference,” he said, “between detailed sketches and rough ones. Art should embody a deep truth, although it may appear simple on the surface. When drawing a building, it is not merely a combination of vertical and horizonal lines. The impression of solidity of the building contains various intangible elements. Unless you find them, you will not be able to express them in your painting. I am studying old paintings. Right now I am attracted to Mantegna. It is essential to pay close attention to the preciousness and faithfulness of old paintings and to understand what the mouth or finger would imply or what kind of characters they would possess when they are drawn. I do not like for a human being to be merely a composition of a mouth or eyes, in other words, just a form, a convention. I devote myself completely to my paintings. I make every effort to turn out good paintings. Then, if any of my works turns out to be not good enough, it would be beyond my control.”

-Riichiro Kawashima “Henry Matisse,” January 1933, in Matisse, A Retrospective

Erin Rachel Hudak (b. 1978) received her B.F.A from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and attended Allegheny College for art and literature. She has been awarded multiple grants for her public sculpture projects in Brooklyn, New York. Hudak’s recent public project is You Are My Reflection, a site-specific installation in St. Louis, Missouri. She participated in the LMCC Process Space Governors Island Spring 2016 Residency. She had a solo exhibition at Ochi Projects in 2017.